Nineteen escape from Kirkuk jail

A source in the police directorate of Iraq's Kirkuk province (250km south of Baghdad), said on Friday that 19 detainees escaped from a jail. Most of the escapees were imprisoned on charges of terrorism, including two men sentenced to death and several alleged Al-Qaeda leaders, in what one politician said was an inside job. Kirkuk province's deputy governor and a provincial council member confirmed the prison break. The group apparently drugged guards and fellow inmates using narcotic-laced dates that put them to sleep before breaking out of Al-Tasfirat prison in central Kirkuk. Of the 19, two were sentenced to death, while 17 faced various accusations including murder. The group was made up of alleged Al-Qaeda insurgents and fighters belonging to Ansar al-Sunna, a Salafist group that has claimed several attacks against US and Iraqi security forces, the security official said. "We consider today's incident to be very clear negligence by the security forces," said Abdullah al-Asi, a Kirkuk provincial councillor, alleging the prison break was an inside job. A source informed Arabstoday that the incident took place at dawn after the prisoners smashed a window and fled. The source, who requested anonymity said that police forces have started a massive search campaign and tightened security measures throughout the city. Iraqi prisons have recently witnessed similar break-outs. Twelve al-Qaeda members were able to flee in January from a prison in Basra, while 35 others escaped a jail in the province of Nineveh in September 2011. Twenty-three prisoners managed to break out of a prison in Mosul in April, in addition to other incidents.